The Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji has grounded the ferry 'Suilven' to allow its inspectors a chance to undertake a special survey to determine the seaworthiness of the vessel.
A preliminary investigation is to take place at the Narain Jetty in Suva, where the vessel is berthed. The vessel, once well-known in New Zealand where she operated on Cook Strait, reportedly encountered electronic problems in mid-December while on passage between Savusavu and Suva.
The global positioning system floater of the vessel experienced a malfunction, which affected the steering and caused the vessel to pull towards the right. Subsequently, the master slowed down the vessel. The vessels owner said that they would bring in technical experts from overseas to fix the problem.
Justin Merrigan
